In the run-up to the summit, we’ve been catching up the IIoT Strategies summit speakers to find out a little more about them, their sessions and their thoughts on the future of manufacturing.

We’d love to know a little more about you… how did you get into the industry and what drives you on?
I come from 10 years in the intersection of consulting, researching and teaching. Being a Manager in ROLD means finding new challenges to improve technology development and being able to design new digital solutions for SME and multinationals

Since you began your career how has the manufacturing industry changed?From technology driven to technology enabled. Now technology is helping people to design business processes more than ever

Where do you think Industry 4.0 has had to the biggest impact?
So far, Industry 4.0 has positively improved operational excellence

And, where do you think the next big changes will be seen?
Artificial intelligence and 5G will play a significant role in H2M and M2M applications

As manufacturing becomes ever more digital and with many organisations IoT implementations begin to mature have there been any ‘we didn’t expect that to happen’ moments along the way?
According to our experience, we did not face any moment like that. This was the result of a crystal clear strategy from the executives then rolled out and controlled by first line managers with the involvement of workers. This chain has granted the successful development of I4.0 initiatives.

There is always a lot of discussion around improving digital adoption. What do you think the biggest barriers are/were and what steps can the industry take to overcome them?Main barriers are: financial (i.e. fundings from governments and institutions) and humans (i.e. resistance to change)

What piece of advice would you give an organisation just starting out on their digital transformation journey?Design a digital roadmap over a 12-18 timeframe

What do you think the industry will look like in ten years from now?
The industry will face the birth of an international cluster of SME working sharing physical and digital assets in different countries

What are you hoping to learn more about at the IIoT Strategies Summit?More on 5G and best practices of I4.0 use cases.

Thank you for your time, Luca, we look forward to seeing you in Lisbon.

If you would like to join us at the Summit and take part in this, or one of the many other roundtables taking place, then please either BOOK HERE or call +44 (0) 20 3004 9791 to confirm your attendance.

The summit takes place on 13-14th March 2019 in Lisbon, Portugal and you can find all the details you need here.